Portrait by Remo Frangiosa

Philly-Bob’s Free-for-All 2019

One man's visual art, largely consisting of digital manipulations of images, taken from (1) my own photographs/videos, (2) downloaded from the Public Domain, or (3) utilized under the Fair Use provision of copyright law.

Artist's Statement

Although I have been interested in art and graphic design all my life, I only began working seriously after I retired in 2010.

In October, 2017, I changed artistic direction from still images to animation and video. This new direction was a time-consuming artistic discipline, with a steep learning curve, and many more variables.

My images are strongly influenced by the optical textures I see when I close my eyes and by what I see when I dream. They are also influenced by the hallucinatory visions I saw under the influence of anaesthesia following open heart surgery.

I often use commercial art, illustration, and typography as a source of ideas.

For maximum effect with my animations, click on the four-sided [] icon in the control bar, which should size the image to fit your screen. For my still images, click repeatedly on the image until it is full-size, which may be larger than your computer screen.

DIGITAL REMIX: COINCIDENCE LEADS TO DRAMA AND DEATH (1:57)
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A complicated story, which I do not tell in this video. Instead, an experiment in half-size insets in a stretch of video. The music is interesting; it's in Italian, I don't know what it says, but I like the female singer's voice.
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March 20, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: HOW LADIES RESPOND TO PROPOSALS OF MARRIAGE (1:31)
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Final piece from my analysis of this rather fussy, English movie. Fourth of four.
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March 19, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: CINEMATIC FORESHADOWING AS GYPSY READS FUTURE (1:18)
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More anti-women stuff from this 1940 English film. Third of four.
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March 19, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: SOFT-HEARTED PRIVATE EYE IN A SMALL CAFE (2:43)
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Turns out the prostitute he defends is killed the next day, and leads the private eye to a cache of stolen Nazi jewels.
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March 18, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: DEPRESSION ERA FANTASY OF SUDDEN WEALTH (3:37)
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Not a good movie, but more footage of popular 1930's actress Constance Bennett. The movie is a comedy of social status. More experiments, increasing vibrancy and saturation of background image color.
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March 14, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: MATING IN ONE ARISTOCRATIC HOME IN REGENCY ENGLAND (2:50)
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This animation illustrates some absurd ideas of female roles, from a movie set in Regency (late 18th century) England. May do more with film later.
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March 13, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: STEP AWAY FROM NARRATIVE INTO SHAPES (2:38)
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More experimenting with filter techniques to add color and complexity to simple old black & white movies.
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March 12, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: A RADIO PROGRAM THAT TAUGHT YOU TO TAP DANCE (2:42)
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The dance finale of a silly 1936 romantic comedy about the tap-dancing suitor of a radio station owner's daughter; somehow they convince the father to run a program called 'Dr. Cassidy's School of the Dance,' which teaches the city how to tap dance -- through sound alone. Research on this led me via Wikipedia to the following discussion of tap dance moves:
"Common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, double shuffle, leap shuffle, hop shuffle, flap, flap ball change, running flaps, flap heel, cramproll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, Maxi Ford with a pullback, pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, waltz clog, the paddle roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, spanks, riffs, and single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks, time steps, over-the-tops, military time step, New Yorkers, Shiggy Bops, drawbacks, and chugs. In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps. Many steps also have single, double, and triple versions, including pullbacks, timesteps, and drawbacks. In tap, various types of turns can be done, including step heel turns, Maxi Ford turns, cramproll turns, and drag turns. Timesteps are widely used in tap and can vary in different areas. These consist of a rhythm that is changed to make new timesteps by adding or removing steps."
Experimenting with different ways of introducing color to these black & white movies.
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March 11, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: RECALLING CONSTANCE BENNETT (1:37)
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Constance Bennett, who was the highest paid Hollywood actress in the early 1930's, caught my eye in this one for her changing expressions and her tense, focused energy. Here, she plays a Berlin streetwalker who befriends an escaped Canadian Prisoner of War. I like the idea of focusing on the performance of one actor; I don't think this first attempt at an actor-focused animation was especially successful, but I'll probably try it again.
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VIDEO: Scenes featuring Constance Bennett from 1936 war movie "Everything Is Thunder" (Link1)
MUSIC: Title track from 2019 album "Dark Moon" by Maryland musician George L. Smyth (Link2). Piece was written to accompany the haiku by Lorin Ford:
beyond Pluto
the pull of a planet
dark moon
Rad more of Australian Ford's poetry at (Link3)
Link1: archive.org/details/EverythingIsThunder
Link2: archive.org/details/DarkMoon_201902
Link3: walleahpress.com.au/HaikuFord.html

March 9, 2019
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DIGITAL REMIX: BUSINESS-LIKE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL (2:33)
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From a 1945 mystery movie, a man and a woman come to an understanding in a noisy, crowded nightclub,
with kids at the table.
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March 7, 2019
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DIGITAL REMIX: NIMBLE-FINGERED SUITOR OUTWITS LANDLORD'S AGENT (4:17)
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From a 1943 early Bollywood (Hindu/Indian) "Kismet," a subplot where a recently-paroled pickpocket saves a young woman from the greedy designs of a landlord's agent.
Note technical glitches, starting at around 2:50, especially at 3:28. These are worrisome, and may signal that my working methods and equipment are not suitable for longer works.
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March 6, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: 1940'S EMPOWERED WOMAN BLURS BARRIERS (0:31)
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From a 1944 movie, female reporter bypasses competition and fools butler to get the story.
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March 5, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: CLEAN-UP, TIDY-UP IN LITHUANIA, 1963 (2:32)
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From a 1963 newsreel, the state encourages residents to clean up balconies and courtyards.
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March 2, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: LAVISH DANCE NUMBER ABOARD OCEAN LINER (2:56)
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From a complicated murder mystery set aboard a transatlantic ocean liner, the floor show in the ship's dining room -- very much in fitting with the Depression-era escapism of the time. (Reminds me of current fascination with meh celebrities like the Kardashians.)
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March 1, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: LONG IRISH MEMORIES OF CROMWELL (3:47)
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Look up Oliver Cromwell, the 17th century Puritan leader who beheaded the king of England. A divisive figure, who comes down to me (and my Irish Catholic upbringing) as a terrifying figure, although some may have a more positive view. This movie clip/anecdote features Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard. Stuck to original soundtrack.
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February 27, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: MURDERER SEEKS COMBINATION TO SAFE (4:36)
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Another experimental piece. Early versions of this piece sent me into depression because I thought it was too dark and mushy, but I emphasized the darkness and I think Nicholas Locke's music saves it. I combined that music with some audio from the movie (apologies, Mr. Locke) because of the telephone sound effects and Ginger Roger's agonized scream. Tried to adjust music and audio using Audacity, which I'm just learning to use, didn't do great job.
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February 26, 2019FUNERAL RITES FOR A BELOVED LITHUANIAN COMPOSER (0:39)
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Jumped through hoops to gets this 1948 Eastern European newsreel -- copied it from screen -- but I like the surface created by the flowers and the girls' traditional costumes.
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February 24, 2019WHEN NATURAL SOUND CREATES FORM 1:20)
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Inventive Australian artist used recorded bird calls to make "bird-like" shapes in this animation. He called them "audio life forms." Another find in the collection of public access video from Europe at
www.europeana.eu.
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February 23, 2019FANCY DRESS WHEN HOLLAND RULED THE WORLD (1:05)
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1947 newsreel footage about show in Haarlem town hall displaying old ("traditional") costumes. Found it in a collection of public access video from Europe at
www.europeana.eu.
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February 22, 2019SOFT NAUGHTY FROM BEFORE THE HOLLYWOOD CODE (WITH HAIKU) (0:35)
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Curious, brief combination of Hollywood glitz sex appeal and a long classical piece connected to some fine poetry.
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VIDEO: from undated "Pre-Code: The Unmentionables" also known as "Show Us Your Undies" by Unknown (Link1)
MUSIC: from "Transience" for four violins and four violas by George L. Smyth (Link2), written for haiku by Debbie Strange:
transience . . .
petal by petal
we let go
Link1: archive.org/details/PreCodeTheUnmentionables
Link2: archive.org/details/Transience_201902

February 21, 2019MANCUSIAN DIALECT IN ENGLISH MOVIE (2:57)
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There is a cultural split in England between residents of the South (like London) and residents of the North (like Manchester). I visited Manchester on a trip to England some years ago, attracted by its industrial past and its world-class newspaper in The Manchester Guardian; while in the area, I visited Robert Oppie's Museum of Brands (which has since moved to London's Notting Hill neighborhood) and several excellent museums. There was once a Manchester School of film-making, now largely disappeared, which highlighted the Manchester accent (known as Mancusian). Note that several parts of the dialog in this snippet are unfamiliar to me, such as the idiom "stopping on."
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VIDEO and AUDIO: From 1935 English dialect comedy "The Right Age to Marry" by Maclean Rogers; product of the short-lived Manchester School of film-making. (Link1)
BACKGROUND IMAGE: Photo of actor Frank Pettingell, who plays a retired Lancashire cotton mill owner (Link2)
Link1: archive.org/details/TheRightAgeToMarry
Link2: www.imdb.com/name/nm0678693/mediaviewer/rm490949632

February 20, 2019REMEMBERING MY 1980'S ROCK AND ROLL SONGS (3:40)
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In musically-vibrant 1980's Detroit ("Motown"), I wrote rock and roll lyrics under the name "Robbie Panek," set to music by my buddy Hugh Cary. Thirty years later, one of those songs, "She Said Why," is still in Hugh's standard repertoire. Here, Hugh composed and performs the music; he once wrote to me about the musical changes that accompany the transition from the complaints in the recitatif/verses to the soaring "She Said Why" chorus:
"The key change is dynamite, going from the minor with the flat 5th sequence to F major 7th and Bb major 7th with diminished chords descending again to the closely related A minor."
I understand nothing of Hugh's musical language -- but the chorus sounds so hopeful -- and this country desperately needs optimism right now! (Maybe I should do a "We Said Why", an attempt at an anthem for the anti-Trump 2020 election.)
Hugh filmed the performance last year on his computer. (You'll notice how good my slightly-younger contemporary Hugh looks! He eats well, bicycles, and has crafted a relatively stress-free living situation.) I adapted Hugh's video somewhat, with an eye to the millenial genre of Vaporwave, which refers back to the graphic styles and music of the 80's and 90's.
I also included an image from my recently completed animation demo at the Plastic Club, part of
a busy weekend that also included the last class and exam of my radio production
class at PhillyCam.
I have decided to do more writing in these entries. The February animation festival marked a turning point -- perhaps an end point -- and I am reconsidering my options.
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February 19, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: RICH PEOPLE PROBLEMS DURING JAZZ AGE (5:15)
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A light English comedy about a handsome sleeping car porter who gets in a green-card marriage with a rich woman.
Showed my short Belgian Army animation in the Sixth Annual Philadelphia Independents animation festival. Also gave a brief demonstration of my technique; unfortunately a few technical problems in my demo. Overall it went well, but sleepless night after late night coffee.
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February 18, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: TENSION BETWEEN NAZIS AND NORDICS IN BAR (0:54)
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Norwegian resistance forces helped sabotage the manufacture of "heavy water," which slowed (or stopped) German progress toward nuclear weapons.
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VIDEO & AUDIO: 1942 English war film "The Day Will Dawn," released as "The Avengers" in U.S., directed by Paul Soskin (Link1)
Link1: archive.org/details/TheDayWillDawn

February 11, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO REPAIR AN AIRFIELD (4:26)
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A village turns out to help the French Resistance evacuate a downed flier and a spy. They pause when they hear a truckload of Nazi soldiers (singing) pass by.
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VIDEO & SOUND: 1944 English docudrama "School for Danger," telling the story of two English spies who parachute into Nazi-occupied France; also known as "Now It Can Be Told" (Link1)
BACKGROUND IMAGE: Cover of Imperial War Museum Compact Disk of World War II espionage memorabilia (Link2)
Link1: archive.org/details/SCHOOLFORDANGERVideoQualityUpgrade
Link2: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205131602

February 2, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: RIGORS OF 1940'S NURSING TRAINING (2:03)
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A taste of life in the past.
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VIDEO & AUDIO: 1943 English film "The Lamp Still Burns" about a woman who switches careers to go to nursing school during wartime (Link1)
BACKGROUND IMAGE: Contemporary movie poster (Link2)
Link1: archive.org/details/TheLampStillBurns
Link2: www.imdb.com/title/tt0036095/mediaviewer/rm1170820096

January 27, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: EARLY DRAMA IN WORLD WAR II (1:04)
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Last video before I have to make a selection for the two animation shows coming up. This time, the music is organ music from another productive composer on IMSLP.ORG, Carlotta Ferrari, a young Italian woman, deeply religious in subject matter, who specializes in organ music. Note that both Ferrari and Locke (ysterday) are diligent and productive artists; both pieces of music are from 2019 -- and here it's only January of 2019
Surviving heat outage in my building. My insurance will pay hotel expenses, but so far with adjustment the apartment is livable and I don't want to relocate. We'll see....
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January 23, 2019DIGITAL SHOWCASE: MY FAVORITE MODERN COMPOSER (3:50)
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These 15 or so months of making videos -- each one requiring a search for musical accompaniment -- has introduced me to a lot of different kinds of music. One of my favorite traditional composers is a young Australian composer named Nicholas Locke. Locke uploads his work to IMSLP.ORG under a creative commons license that allows derivative works.
I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe Locke's work, but I find it exciting with some of the best qualities of movie and classical music. Just three instruments in this one: violin, viola, and cello. What do you think?
Personal drama: a fire in the boiler room of my building leaves me without heat. My insurance covers temporary relocation expenses, but, at heart, I'm an old Michigan voyageur/trapper and Janice and I are considering sticking it out by closing off rooms and runnning a space heater.
I re-did the video because to make it more suitable for the upcoming "Dynamism" show at the Plastic Club. Here's the revised:
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January 22, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: CHASE SCENE AT AMUSEMENT PARK (3:04)
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More experiments with VideoStudio Mask Creator. Also color from a video clip from StudioBacklot. This may be my entry into Animation Festival or Dynamism Show at Plastic Club.
Again, music from Locke; nice to see he uses Aboriginal names for Australian geography.
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January 20, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: TERRITORIAL DISPUTE AT THE HIPPO POOL (1:27)
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Some improvement in use of VideoStudio's "Mask Creator" utility, separating the crocodile when it appears; the hippos' color is muted, but the croc's color is natural. Still troubled by my work, and worried about which pieces to enter into the upcoming (but separate) Animation Festival and Dynamism shows at the Plastic Club.
Again, like the last animation, music is from my favorite young composer, Nicholas Locke. I'm not sure this song fits the action -- or whether the January 16 Locke composition fits that action -- but I include them to recommend the young Aussie.
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January 19, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: ENGLISH MYSTERY (0:46)
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Another remix of old movies. Added color, removed dialog. Still troubled -- was not able to master VideoStudio's "Mask Creator" utility.
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January 16, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: DUCK SOUP DIPLOMACY (2:53)
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Another remix of old movies. Discontented with these animations lately. February is animation month show at Plastic Club, will have to choose an entry.
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January 13, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: BEGINNING OF MURDER MYSTERY (2:00)
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Opening of English mystery with comic overtones, with Gordon Harker in the title role and costarring Alastair Sim as the bumblin playing Scotland Yard detectives, derived from a popular English radio show of the time. "Each week Inspector Hornleigh interrogated various witnesses, one of whom makes some slip which convicts him. The radio audience were invited to match their wits against Inspector Hornleigh's, with the mistake the witness made not being disclosed until the end of the programme.
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January 7, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: HAPPY ENDING (3:00)
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First animation done on a new computer system, a refurbished Dell Optiplex 9010, bought from Fred, the friendly corner computer guy, for about $320. Had to reinstall all my programs. Curses upon the digital soul of Adobe, which always makes it difficult.
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VIDEO: From a 1940 English film "21 Days Together" based on John Galsworthy story. Vivien Leigh chases Lawrence Oliver to save him from surrendering to police. (Link1)
BACKGROUND IMAGE: Publicity shot of Vivien Leigh from "Gone with the Wind." (Link2)
MUSIC: Song "Hegamila" from Khawaga's 2018 album 'ZOO' by Indonesian netlabel Yes/No/Wave Music label (Link3)
Link1: archive.org/details/21DaysTogether
Link2: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Leigh#/media/File:Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind.jpg
Link3: archive.org/details/yesno092

January 4, 2019DIGITAL REMIX: SIMPLE WISH FROM AN INNOCENT TIME (3:13)
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A bit of a rush job, trying to finish on the first day of 2019. Enjoyed revisiting the world of the 1930's singing cowboy -- the essential decency, where even a passing cowpoke will get involved in saving a widow's ranch from a greedy land developer. (Nowadays, the greedy land developers are in charge.)
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January 1, 2019DIGITAL RESTORATION: 1935 MORALITY FILM (4:37)
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Two differences from previous entries. (1) I used the audio editing program AUDACITY to adjust the sound, although I wasn't skilled enough to remove the incidental music at about 2:45; (2) my intention was not to "remix" the video to make a new work of art, but simply to improve production values and edit it down to a short, affecting story.
The actor in the final scene (Conrad Veidt) was a refugee from Germany. The actor playing the servant girl (Rene Ray) moved on to become the Countess of Midleton.
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VIDEO & SOUND: Extract from 1935 English film "The Passing of the Third Floor Back" (Link1. First produced as a play in 1908, the moralistic plot tells of a Christ-like Stranger (Conrad Veidt) who straightens out the lives of all the residents of a London boarding house, including an unhappy serving girl (Rene Ray).
The script was based on a story by Jerome K. Jerome (Link2)
Link1: archive.org/details/ThePassingOfTheThirdFloorBack
Link2: www.gutenberg.org/files/865/865-h/865-h.htm

December 30, 2018DIGITAL REMIX: MAYBE ARMAGEDDON TOMORROW (1:28)
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I read the news today, oh boy. Russia has been working hard on developing weapons, and Putin is very publicly flexing his muscle. I don't know about the American defenses -- back under Reagan generals were not promoted unless they supported his "Star Wars" antimissile system, and Trump's lack of attention and narrow focus on his self interest don't bode well.
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December 29, 2018DIGITAL REMIX: PHILADELPHIA HISTORY TABLEAU (1:37)
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Remind me to visit Penn Treaty Park on the Delaware River, just a couple miles away from my home, where an obelisk marks the site of the famous elm where the Treaty of Shacamaxon was signed. The peaceful treaty between European settlers and an indigenous people had global significance; Voltaire in 1764 said it was "... the only treaty never sworn to and never broken." Why never sworn to? Quakers claimed always to speak the truth, so they didn't swear oaths; this is why Janice and I were able to get married in Philadelphia City Hall in what is called a "self-uniting marriage -- without swearing to either the State or a Religion, it was just between us.
And never broken? Well, not quite. The treaty lasted nearly 80 years, until the French encouraged the Delawares to commit the Penn's Creek Massacre in 1755. And the Delawares were eventually "relocated" to Oklahoma.
I hail from the American midwest -- Michigan -- where the relations between European settlers and the indigenous tribes (Ottawa, Pottawatomie, and Chippewa) was more troubled at the time of settlement, again because of French imperial ambitions.
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VIDEO: Scene from 1941 English film "The Courageous Mr. Penn," depicting unarmed Quaker William Penn signing a peace treaty with the Delaware Indians in 1683. The peace lasted nearly 80 years, until the French encouraged the Delawares to commit the Penn's Creek Massacre in 1755. (Link1)

BACKGROUND IMAGE: Depiction of the same event (the Treaty of Shackamaxon) by Italian-born artist Constantino Brumidi, painted upon the frieze in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Link2)

MUSIC: Title song from album "Finale Finis" by the label 'Jazzaria.' (Link3)

July 31, 2018DIGITAL REMIX: ENTRY IN MEMBERS CHOICE SHOW (3:25)VIDEOCOLLAGE: PERE QUART POEM & EMPIRE STATE BLDG. CHASE SCENE
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Trying out landscape orientation.
Frustrating that I was not able to include my translation of the beautiful poem by the Catalan poet known as Pere Quart. May return to this issue. One incidental result of my cyber-exploring around the world: there's a lot of art going on in Catalan Barcelona.
To my unworthy American ear, I hear the Catalan poetry as profane: "You fucked the cow." I blush before the original words: "Un xic de cor" -- translation: "a bit of heart."
Translation of the poem is below

God: And you, what do you want?
Me: Well, I just want to
-It can be-:
A bit of hunger
and a little bread.
A bit cold
and a bit of fire.
A little sound
and a bit of bed.
A little of seven
and a bit of wine
and a little milk.
And a little peace.
A little step,
a little bit of weight
and a bit of floor.
And a bit of a nest.
A bit of pic
and a little pac
-or a bit of salary
and a bit of a check.
And a bit of sunshine
and a little salt.
And a bit of sky.
A bit of good
and a bit wrong.
A little honey
and a bit of a fel.
And a little at night
and a bit scary of fear,
and a little chest
a bit of color
and little bit of shout
And a little light
and a bit of sound:
a little lightning
and a little tro.
A little joy
and a bit of kiss
and a little bit of sex.
And a bit of a dog.
And a little gas.
A bit of the fort
and a bit of the flow.
And a little rom
and a little smoke.
A bit of a place
And a bit of play
-tres kings, two new ones
And a bit of yellow
and a little gray
and a little green
And a bit of blue.
A bit of a train
and a little ship;
and a bit of rowing.
A bit of wind.
And a bit of snow.
And a bit of a rogue.
And a bit of a voice
-and a little vote.
And a bit of singing.
And a little verse.
And a bit of dance.
And of art. And gold
A little fish.
And a little fat.
And a bit of beam.
And a little thick.
And a little meat
and a little blood;
and a bit of hair.
And a bit of mud
and a bit of dust.
A little flam
and a little ice.
A little saint
and a bit of a dragon.
A little risk
and a little bit of income
-and a bit of Russian.
And a piece of field
and a little fruit;
a piece of closure
near the home
with birds and flowers.
And a little forest
with pins and splinters.
And a bit of a fountain.
And a little river
and a bit of rec
and a little bridge.
And a bit of gorg.
And a little sea
and a little port.
And a bit of crying.
A little linen
and a little leather
and a little skin
and a little thread.
A bit of mud
and a little juice
And a bit of pork.
And a little park.
A little taste
and a little bit of rank.
And besides me
a bit of yours
and a bit of theirs.
I want to be: donkey clerc?
beautiful ugly? right? fault
fat thin ready? llosc?
new old? firmly skinny
blah carry? empty? full up?
sweet dark? dry wharf
serious? slight short long
dark clear yaix? the end?
A little bit of everything.
And what do I want?
A little of sanity
And a little time.
And a bit of a world.
And a bit of luck.
And a little death.
And a little of You.
Hey, yes it can be.
Originally Posted in Circumstancias (1968)

ARCHIVE: Webpage Proprietor's PortraitsTime to change my image at top of this web page. The new image is a small pencil portrait done by Remo Frangiosa. It was done while I sat for Remo's portrait class over a two-week period at Philadelphia's historic Plastic Club in September, 2015.
The second image is a larger painting I commissioned from the Plastic Club's Andy Hoffmann.

Next are two other images also used as masthead portraits. Third image is an iPad self-portait in a coffee shop (approx. 2014). It is probably the best representation of my revulsion at the aging process and my sadness at the prospect of diminishing cognitive powers.
Fourth is an attempt to limit portrait to the fewest number of facial features and still be recognizable (approx. 2012). (Sorry: unlike the other images on this page, these masthead pictures don't enlarge when clicked...)
Fifth is a drawing done in our Open Studio workshop by Meri Collier, a Toronto-based artist and member of the Plastic Club.